Foreign Policy on the Ballot

Shibley Telhami & Dina Smeltz on how Americans see the world

Foreign policy generally doesn’t shape the way Americans vote. But America’s actions abroad have direct consequences at home. Our guests today are experts in public opinion polling and argue that in this year’s midterm elections, foreign policy is very much on the ballot.

In this episode, the Institute for Global Affairs’ Jonathan Guyer is joined by Shibley Telhami, a distinguished scholar at the University of Maryland, and Dina Smetlz, director of public opinion and foreign policy at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. Together they discuss the Iran war as a pocketbook issue, where US public opinion has shifted most, the decline of bipartisanship, and more.

Shibley Telhami is the Anwar Sadat Professor for Peace and Development at the University of Maryland, where he directs the Critical Issues Poll. He is also a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution focusing on Middle East policy and has conducted public opinion surveys in the United States, Israel, and Arab countries. He previously served as an advisor to several US administrations and is the author and co-author of several books, including the forthcoming Peace Derailed: Obama, Trump, Biden, and the Decline of Diplomacy on Israel/Palestine, 2011-2022.

Dina Smeltz is managing director and chair of public opinion and foreign policy at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, where she oversees an annual survey of American attitudes toward foreign policy. She previously conducted public opinion research in the Middle East, South Asia, and Europe at the US State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research.

Find Shibley on X: https://x.com/ShibleyTelhami

Find Dina on X: https://x.com/RoguePollster

Check out the Chicago Council’s newest polling: https://globalaffairs.org/research/public-opinion-survey/americans-foreign-policy-and-2026-midterms

Check out the Critical Issues Poll: https://criticalissues.umd.edu/

Transcript:

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